The Cultural Dimension of Global Business

Gary P. Ferraro is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, received his BA from Hamilton College and his MA and PhD from Syracuse University. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Swaziland (1979–1980) and at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic (2003) and twice served as a visiting professor for the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea Program, a floating university that travels around the world. He has conducted long-term research in Kenya and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and has traveled widely throughout many other parts of the world. He has served as a consultant/trainer for such organizations as the Peace Corps, IBM, Bank of America, Georgia Pacific, Duke Energy, and J.M. Huber, among others. Elizabeth K. Briody has been involved in cultural-change efforts for over 35 years, first at General Motors Research and later through her own consulting practice, Cultural Keys. She has worked with clients in manufacturing, health care, petrochemicals, consumer products, and service industries. She has written several books including Transforming Culture and Partnering for Organizational Performance. Briody is leading the Anthropology Career Readiness Network to improve student preparation for the job market and is Past President of the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology. Briody was the 2020 awardee of the Bronislaw Malinowski Award for lifetime achievement from the Society for Applied Anthropology. She earned her BA from Wheaton College, Norton, MA and her MA and PhD from The University of Texas at Austin.

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Cultural anthropology and global business

2. Applying lenses to understanding culture

3. Communicating nonverbally across cultures

4. Communicating across cultures using language

5. Negotiating across cultures

6. Understanding organizational culture

7. Partnering across cultures

8. Transforming business culture

9. Exploring consumers and users

10. Acting and managing globally

Appendix: Cross-cultural scenario discussions

Glossary

References